Revolution Season 1 Report Card: C-

You came out the gate impressively... but as time dragged on you became less and less watchable. Sure, you had some good ideas and some halfway decent episodes, but you’re mostly residing in mediocrity, as noted and detailed in the following TV Fanatic Report Card.

Best Episode: The series premiere. It’s where all of Revolution held so much promise. The lights were out, and Charlie’s world was beginning to fall apart as her family was taken away from her. Charlie was determined to bring whatever semblance of family she had left back together and then rescue Danny. She was one girl going on one small adventure in a world with far greater problems. The pilot did its job exceptionally well in introducing the potential of the show; sadly that momentum died quickly.

Worst Episode: When “The Plague Dogs” killed off Maggie – one of the stronger characters this season – so quickly it left Miles as the only person capable of carrying the dramatic side of the show. Additionally, Maggie’s death did absolutely nothing to further the stakes or characters. It was merely a poor decision for shock value; for Revolution to metaphorically put its hands in the air and yell, “we’re not afraid of killing off interesting characters!”

In a fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice shame on me way, ”Sex and Drugs” ended up being the confirmation I had hoped I would never see after “The Plague Dogs.” The latter was a filler episode thrown in early on in Revolution’s first half (episode six) and it culminated in everything currently wrong with the series: pacing and boring, two-dimensional characters. The guest stars and flashbacks ended up telling far more compelling stories than the main plots could ever hope to.

Best Character: Rachel Matheson. Rachel is engaging, flawed and desperate. She puts everything on the line to make sure she gets the revenge she’s desperately seeking against Monroe for everything he’s done to her family and she does not care what gets in her way. She willingly decides to take the risk of a scorched Earth if it means being Monroe-free. She’s given up and sacrificed her children and her life to see that Monroe pays.

Worst Character: Monroe somehow sunk to the bottom. Watching him grow more crazed and desperate to finish whatever it was he wanted to finish with Miles only made him more and more cartoonish. With any luck Monroe will be struck by the lightning as he ran away from The Tower.

Best Reveal: The President of the United States is alive and well…and hiding in Guantanamo Bay. It has the potential to bring the series back to what made it compelling in the beginning.

Hopes for Next Season: Revolution needs to find a way to reinvent itself. It is no longer behind The Voice and will be forced to stand on its own. With the power on and the President back in…power, It’s the perfect time to begin redefining the stakes and the outcomes. But, most importantly, the characters, while better from where they are, are still mostly inconsistent and generic. There are very few that I want to root for, and the ones that I do end up connecting to end up getting killed.

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Sonny•June 11, 2013 03:16

I happen to really like the series, and if someone does not, then simply don't watch it. As far as Miles and Monroe , sexual attraction, nix. Please don't clutter up this show with that. As far as people being gay, hey, I acknowledge that, and accept that. But, why in hell try to bring everything to the forefront and shove it into an otherwise a good show? You should know that you do not have to be actual brothers by birth in order to be really close to someone, male or female. That doesn't mean that you are even the slightest bit interested in sex at all. Anyone that doesn't know that is a very shallow person. Just saying.

I was liking this show until NBC put it on the waiting list for 3-4 months like Grimm. After that I lost all interest in this show. I think NBC made a big mistake taking this show and Grimm off for so long. This is network tv not cable! I agree they need to have better writing.

This show had great potential and some major stuff could move the show along but honestly the poor writing and lack of proper storytelling took the worst of it.The dynamic established in the Pilot got somewhere lost and overwritten by sideline stories which really didn't contributed to the overall story. The run for getting the lights back came up to soon. The Pendant story could have taken a long run before actually bringing back the lights. To many capital deaths that didn't take enough impact. Danny, Maggie just seemed as wasted and rushed to forfill a some stories and get a story going. Hopes for S2: None for now. Cause Arrow is in that time slot and they are pretty much killing it how good it is. But the president idea and his possible connection to the Core quartet could be pretty interesting. Especially if it turns out he is Charlies Dad! It's a weird Telenovela asumption. Grace seems like an possibly interesting character who could turn Regular.